This week I’m joined by my friend Allie, who endured passing a kidney stone while in her 3rd trimester!! Truly chilling stuff. But, beyond that, Allie shares her experience with high blood pressure near the end of both of her pregnancies that ultimately resulted in two positive, epidural-less inductions that she takes us through beat-by-beat. She also opens up about the difficulty of having a baby who refused to sleep through the night for a whole year and how that impacted her postpartum mental health. Her postpartum experience was then transformed through a few new friendships that serve as a beautiful reminder of the power of community.

Allie’s story is truly uplifting and downright hilarious in many instances. If you’re looking for a motherhood pick-me-up, this episode is for you!

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Allie

00:10:18 - 1st Pregnancy: Inconsistent Periods, 5 Months of Trying, & High Blood Pressure Readings

00:14:57 - 1st Labor: Cervidil Induction at 37 Weeks, Unexpected Transition, & Unmedicated Delivery

00:32:58 - 1st Postpartum: Lack of Sleep, PPA, & Making New Mom Friends

00:48:35 - 2nd Pregnancy: Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction, Staying Active, & Passing a Kidney Stone

01:01:25 - 2nd Labor: Cytotec Induction at 39 Weeks, Rapid Dilation, & Planned Unmedicated Delivery

01:19:41 - 2nd Postpartum: Positive Sleep Training & Supportive Community

01:30:57 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

Today I am joined by me, myself, and I as I recap my 2nd trimester experiences. Y’all sent in questions to guide today’s conversation, and I loved the opportunity to look back on a truly transformative time. We talk about all things cravings, left-field symptoms, baby showers, nursery prep, and where I’m at with my birth plan. It’s such a privilege to deep dive into my journey through motherhood with y’all! Thanks for being here 🩷

This week, I’m joined by my friend Emma, who prepared for an unmedicated birth that actually didn’t come to fruition because her baby was breech. After trying everything in the Spinning Babies handbook, she decided to pivot and use the very same mental coping techniques that she had learned for her natural birth to prepare for an ultimately positive C-section birth.

She shares beautiful memories of the love she felt the first time she saw her son, the joy of skin-to-skin, and the bonding experiences her little family shared together afterwards. Even with a spinal block headache and a painful start to breastfeeding, she was able to stay grounded in her postpartum experience by remembering that things can be difficult and sweet at the same time, but that with motherhood, it always comes out worth it in the end.

Chapters:

00:00 - Meet Emma

07:59 - Pregnancy: Positive Pregnancy, Natural Labor Prep, & Failed ECV

20:51 - Labor: Leaking Water, Working Through Early Labor, & Peaceful C-Section

29:09 - Postpartum: Skin-to-Skin, Instant Love, & Breastfeeding Challenges

52:02 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week, I’m joined by my friend Lauren, whose epidural worked a little too well to the point that she broke her pubic bone without even realizing it! In this episode, Lauren walks us through her 3 pitocin & cervidil inductions and 2 failed inductions. She also experienced preeclampsia with all 3 of her pregnancies, but gradually learned how to manage her symptoms and advocate for proper care.

Even though there were some bumps along the way, Lauren’s stories have so many beautiful highs, like when she was able to catch her own baby during delivery or when she had a bonding moment with her daughter that reminded her that they were chosen for one another.

This episode is like a breath of fresh air. So if you’re looking for an uplifting conversation about all things motherhood, this one’s for you!

Trigger Warning: Mention of infant death (40:25 to 40:39)

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Lauren

00:09:05 - 1st Pregnancy: Conflicting Advice & Late Preeclampsia Diagnosis

00:16:29 - 1st Labor: Powerful Epidrual + Broken Pubic Bone

00:18:33 - 1st Postpartum: Postpartum Anxiety & Emotional Breastfeeding Struggles

00:29:04 - Miscarriage

00:30:52 - 2nd Pregnancy: Processing Pregnancy After Loss

00:35:19 - 2nd Labor: Failed Epidural, Advocating for Herself, & Catching Her Own Baby

00:41:43 - 2nd Postpartum: Residual Empowerment From Birth + Self Compassion in Breastfeeding

00:55:14 - 3rd Pregnancy: Phantom Pregnancies & Managing Preeclampsia

00:59:17 - 3rd Labor: Embracing an Unplanned, Unmedicated Birth

01:02:19 - 3rd Postpartum: Gaining Confidence & Finding Peace in Breastfeeding

01:19:07 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week, I’m joined by my sister-friend, Rachel, who is the third and final of my sisters-in-laws to share her story with us! Rachel went through quite the journey to bring her two daughters into the world. Starting with endometriosis-related fertility struggles, followed by hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) and severe preeclampsia that led to one daughter being born at 30 weeks and the other at 33 weeks. We discuss extended NICU stays, the long-term effects of being a micropremie, and how Rachel learned to stand up for her family through it all.

This week’s discussion is a bit heavier, but it is a reminder of the power of a mother’s intuition and the strength that comes when fighting for your children.

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Trigger Warning: Discussion of miscarriage and traumatic birth throughout

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Rachel

00:19:50 - 1st Pregnancy: PCOS + Clomid, HG, & Bed Rest at 29 Weeks

00:52:33 - 1st Delivery: Preeclampsia & Life Saving Measures

01:01:58 - 1st Postpartum: 2 Month NICU Stay & Learning to be Assertive

01:15:46 - 2nd Pregnancy: Secondary Infertility, Subchorionic Hematoma, & Feeding Tubes

01:32:42 - 2nd Delivery: Failed Stress Tests, Redemptive C-Section, & OR Skin-to-Skin

01:40:12 - 2nd Postpartum: COVID in the NICU & Coping with Postpartum OCD

01:55:42 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week I’m joined by my new friend Kyla, who learned how to differentiate between what was in her control and what wasn’t early on in her motherhood journey. This distinction helped her achieve a positive, unmedicated hospital birth with the help of a doula, even through 12 hours of labor, 2 hours of pushing, and an episiotomy!

Kyla truly loved her birth experience and just being a mom overall, so this episode is perfect if you’re looking for some positive motherhood vibes!

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Trigger Warning: Mention of infant death (01:00:05 to 01:00:30)

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Kyla

00:12:38 - Pregnancy: Delayed Conception & Channeling Energy into Birth Prep

00:23:12 - Labor: Positive Unmedicated Hospital Birth + Doula Assistance

00:59:21 - Postparum: Immediate Adrenaline High, Breastfeeding Woes, & Loving Motherhood

01:08:36 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week, we are joined AGAIN by my friend Ashley, who is a mom to six kids! In this episode, we are wrapping up her story by walking through her last three birth experiences. Ashley shares how the precipitous, unmedicated delivery of her third baby (which we ended on last week) brought a lot of anxiety into the medicated delivery of her fourth. She also remarks on how different it felt going back to an epidural birth after having experienced an unmedicated birth. This ultimately influenced her to decide to have unmedicated home births with her fifth and sixth babies! It is amazing to hear how much more empowered and excited Ashley felt with her last two births in contrast with some of her other experiences.

It is seriously special to see how all six of her experiences come together to create a beautiful journey through motherhood. Ashley’s stories are truly a reminder that every birth is unique and transformative!

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:03:15 - 4th Child: Unsolicited Membrane Sweep, Processing Anxiety, & Choosing an Epidural

00:29:25 - 5th Child: Mentally Preparing, Working with a Midwife, + Mostly Unassisted Home Birth

01:04:05 - 6th Child: Overcoming Doubt & 1-Push Home Birth

01:23:38 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week I’m joined by my friend Ashley, a mom of six!! In this episode, we walk through her first three birth stories, and next week she’ll be back to share the final three. Ashley’s journey starts with two smooth pregnancies that resulted in almost identical deliveries (seriously—same birth weight and everything!). But her third baby threw her for a loop, from taking longer to conceive to a labor so fast she didn’t even have time to get an IV!

Each of Ashley’s experiences builds on the last, and I can’t wait for you to see how all six come together to form such a beautiful, resilient story of motherhood.

Full episode transcript available at thelaborline.com/episodes

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Ashley

00:13:19 - 1st Child: Smooth Pregnancy, 45 Minutes of Pushing, & Weaning From a Nipple Shield

00:38:08 - 2nd Child: Finishing School While Pregnant & Admitted at 8 cm Dilated for a Deja Vu Delivery

00:52:46 - 3rd Child: Slower Conception, Unintentionally Unmedicated, Out in 2 Pushes